Moscow
Shut up: Russia expanded its definition of treason this week with a new law that could allow the government to brand anyone who dissents from its line as a traitor. High treason now includes providing help or advice to any international or foreign organization, as well as possessing any information that the government deems secret. The FSB, Russia’s spy agency, first proposed the change in 2008, but then-President Dmitri Medvedev shelved it after an opposition outcry. President Vladimir Putin has now approved it. Putin, a former KGB agent, was furious at the huge street protests against his re-election in May, which he said were instigated by U.S. agents. Since then he has kicked out the U.S. Agency for International Development and labeled Russia’s only independent election watchdog a “foreign agent.”
Beijing
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Not a cliff-hanger: The Chinese Communist Party elected the country’s new leaders this week at a once-a-decade event that was scripted well in advance. President Hu Jintao and other leaders in their late
60s stepped down to make way for Vice President Xi Jinping and a new group in their 50s. The incoming crowd is believed to be close to Hu’s predecessor, elder statesman and power broker Jiang Zemin, who advocated market-based reforms and is said to be frustrated with the rise of huge state companies under Hu. The incoming leaders will have to tackle slowing growth, an increasingly assertive and Internet-savvy citizenry, and territorial disputes with neighboring countries.
Tehran
Defending airspace: Feeling the pressure from increased sanctions and surveillance, Iran launched its largest-ever air drills this week. Bombers and fighter planes flew over an area of more than 300,000 square miles, while elite troops tested missile, artillery, and surveillance systems. The drills “send out a strong warning to those threatening Iran,” said military spokesman Shahrokh Shahram. But years of weapons sanctions have taken a toll on Iran’s military hardware, and experts say much of it is outdated. Last week, the U.S. said Iran had fired at least
twice on an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone over international waters but missed.
Damascus, Syria
Opposition unites: After 20 months of battling the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s fractious opposition groups have united in a coalition. Led by Damascus preacher Mouaz Alkhatib, the new Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces replaces the discredited, expat-dominated Syrian National Council. Six Arab countries and France gave the new group full recognition right away, but the U.S. said it would have to demonstrate that it speaks for the rebels before getting military aid. The Syrian opposition has blamed the rise of Islamist groups in its midst on the lack of weapons assistance from Western and Arab countries.
Gaza
Hamas commander killed: After four days of rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza, Israel this week resumed targeted assassinations of Palestinian militants by killing the military commander of Hamas in an airstrike. Ahmed Jabari was at the top of Israel’s most-wanted list, blamed for a string of attacks, including the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The airstrike against his car was followed by others aimed at wiping out stores of long-range rockets capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Israeli military spokesman Yoav Mordechai said the strikes were the start of a major campaign against Hamas and its rival Islamic Jihad. Gaza, he said, is a “forward Iranian base.”
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Diamond plunder: At least $2 billion worth of diamonds have been stolen from Zimbabwean diamond fields since 2008, according to a diamond watchdog group. Most of it ended up enriching officials in President Robert Mugabe’s government, as well as smugglers and international gem dealers, Partnership Africa Canada has charged. “The scale of illegality is mind-blowing” and has spread to “compromise most of the diamond markets of the world,” the group said. It said collusion between international diamond dealers and mining officials is costing the Zimbabwean treasury hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Mining companies denied the allegations.
